Corporate Attempts To Build Metaverse Will “Misfire” Says Vitalik Buterin

08/02/2022

3 minutes read

2022.08.02 00:58

Co-Founder of Ethereum (ETH) Vitalik Buterin tweeted on July 31st that the metaverse will be built, but noted his skepticism about corporate attempts to build the metaverse, adding that Meta’s efforts will “misfire.”

“It Is Far Too Early to Know What People Want”

Buterin claimed that the nature of the use cases for the metaverse are still unclear, and that Meta’s attempt to build a metaverse will prove to be ineffective:

“We don’t really know the definition of ‘the metaverse’ yet, it’s far too early to know what people actually want. So anything Facebook (NASDAQ:META) creates now will misfire.”

The “metaverse” is going to happen but I don’t think any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere. https://t.co/tVUfq4CWmP

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 30, 2022

Buterin made the assertion in claim in response to a statement made by Co-Founder of Dialectic Dean Eigenmann, who wrote that, as an ex-gamer, he is struggling to formulate a definition for metaverse:

“All the ideas on concepts make sense, communities are moving to virtual worlds, etc. but I still do not believe it will happen in the ways VCs are currently funding.”

My critique is deeper than “Metaverse Wikipedia will beat Metaverse Encyclopedia Britannica”. It’s that we don’t really know the definition of “the metaverse” yet, it’s far too early to know what people actually want. So anything Facebook creates now will misfire.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 31, 2022

The claims have sparked discussion throughout the community, with the prevailing opinion seemingly being that, since the community-driven gaming industry is the template upon which the metaverse is being built, attempts by big tech companies to centralize the emerging metaverse will likely fail.

the metaverse is definitely going to happen roblox/minecraft style and not facebook/apple style. i already can live all day in video games you will not catch me in a facebook metaverse.

— christina trexler (@xtinacomputes) July 30, 2022

Setting Standards

Critics have denounced the concept of a centralized metaverses created by tech giants like Meta and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Their main concerns largely relate to the ownership of goods and services, and the ever-present question of privacy that follows whenever such companies are involved.

With the metaverse still being developed, players and developers in the metaverse industry are uniting to set universal standards. Most notably, Decentraland and The Sandbox have partnered with a range of Web 3.0 projects to form the ‘Open Metaverse Alliance’ (OMA3), with the main goal being to create more open, welcoming, decentralized, and democratic metaverses.

Another organization striving to set its own standards of interoperability in the metaverse realm is ‘The Metaverse Standards Forum’ (MSF). Among the 35 IT companies to have joined the MSF are Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Unity, and Sony (NYSE:SONY).

On the Flipside

Meta has built a number of AR and VR applications, including the Meta Horizons Workroom—a VR room for colleagues to connect and collaborate on ideas. Meta also built first-generational smart glasses, allowing users to connect to the Metaverse by recording audio and video, all while being surrounded by a virtual world of their choosing.
Many metaverse projects of the new generation have launched in recent years, with Decentraland and The Sandbox being notable mentions among them.

Why You Should Care

Vitalik Buterin is the founder of Ethereum (ETH), the second most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Ethereum’s market capitalization represents more than 17% of the $1.2 trillion global crypto market.
The market value of the metaverse is estimated to become as much as $947.118 billion by 2030.

‘The Infinite Machine‘, a movie about Vitalik Buterin, will also be part of the metaverse. Find out more here: